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Should You Buy a Stand-up or Treadmill Desk?

May 06, 2015

Only if you’ll use it — and stick with it long-term.

If you work all day sitting in a chair, you’re hurting your body. All that time on our rears dangerously slows our metabolism and promotes heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. So some health-minded folks have taken to treadmill and stand-up desks, or sit/stand desks that pop up and down with a hand crank or electric mechanism. The problem is that most people who use these desks still don’t get enough exercise. By all means, look for alternatives to a lifetime of sitting, but make sure you get exercise, too.

First the case against sitting. In a 14-year study of 123,216 people, conducted by the American Cancer Society, women who sat for more than 6 hours a day were about 37 percent more likely to die during the study than those who sat for fewer than 3 hours a day. Men were 18 percent more likely to die.

So what about standing? That could strain the legs, knees, and lower back. As Alan Hedge, a design and ergonomics professor at Cornell University, has pointed out, a hundred years ago office workers stood all day and developed back problems and varicose veins.

Sit/stand arrangements give you flexibility. There are products that you place on top of an ordinary desk and special desks designed for laptops or to raise just a keyboard and separate monitor. When customers call Nick McElhiney, a certified ergonomics-assessment specialist who sells a variety of products through ErgonomicEvolution.com, his first question is how tall you are. “There’s a whole bunch of ergonomic equipment that is being misused and causing more problems,” he says. Before you invest, though, consider whether you’ll really use the standing option. In a small four-week study, office workers given sit/stand desks ended up standing instead of sitting for 8 hours a week, less than 2 hours a work-day. That’s pretty good, but the study only lasted a month. Hedge has found that most users of sit/stand products stand only for 15 minutes a day for the first month or so and then just sit.

However, unless you’re already fit, you may not move fast enough to meet the federal guideline. In one three-month study, about 20 overweight and obese employees at a large insurance company were given treadmill desks and asked to walk on them at a comfortable pace for about 45 minutes twice a day. On average, the employees did only one session and walked slowly. They did increase the average number of steps they took in a day by about 1,000, which has potential health benefits. Again, however much you do, the key is whether you’ll keep it up.

In a longer study, over 6 months, 18 people rotated on and off treadmill desks. They walked on the treadmill on average about 3 hours a day. In this group, people lost weight and showed improvement in their cholesterol levels. In a year-long study, participants working at treadmill desks also increased their activity and lost weight.

What else can you do if you have a desk job? You can add movement into your day by standing up and stretching and lifting handweights. Walk over to a coworker rather than sending an email, take the stairs when you can, and exercise at lunch. If you drive for long stretches, stop every 2 hours.